STEPHEN KNAPP

STEPHEN KNAPP (Sri Nandanandana dasa)

Stephen has dedicated himself to spreading the deepest and most practical levels of spiritual knowledge about the soul--our real identity. It is his strongest realization that our existence on this earthly plane becomes much easier and more vibrant the more we expand our spiritual awareness to perceive the higher dimensions and purpose of things around us.

Stephen Knapp grew up in a Christian family, during which time he seriously studied the Bible to understand its teachings. In his late teenage years, however, he sought answers to questions not easily explained. After his first reading of the Bhagavad-gita, the classic summary of Vedic philosophy known as The Song of God, he felt he had found the last piece of the puzzle he had been putting together through all of his research. This increased his understanding of everything else he had been studying. Therefore, he continued to research all of the major Vedic texts of India to gain a better understanding of the Vedic science, until he became a full-fledged follower and practitioner of Sanatana-dharma. Now he also tirelessly works to protect, preserve and promote the deep spiritual knowledge of Vedic philosophy and its traditions.

He continued his study of Vedic knowledge and spiritual practice under the guidance of a spiritual master, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Through this process he was given the spiritual name of Sri Nandanandana dasa and became initiated into the genuine and authorized spiritual line of the Brahma-Madhava-Gaudiya sampradaya. This is a disciplic succession that descends back through Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Vyasadeva, the compiler of Vedic literature, and further back to Lord Sri Krishna, who originally enlightened Lord Brahma to help in the universal creation, and who again appeared on this planet 5,000 years ago in Mathura, India to display His pastimes.

Besides being brahminically initiated and being trained in temple pujas, Stephen has also been to India numerous times and traveled extensively throughout the country, visiting almost every state of India and most of the major holy places and temples, and many minor ones, and gaining a wide variety of spiritual experiences that only such places can give.

Stephen is also the founder of the World Relief Network. Its goal is to help relieve the sorrow, suffering and confusion on the planet by the dissemination of genuine spiritual knowledge and the means for individual and social enlightenment, and to work with others who feel the same. Many of his books are published through the World Relief Network. Stephen is also one of the founders and president of the Vedic Friends Association (VFA), a non-profit organization for networking with other serious writers, researchers and teachers who help protect, preserve and expand the knowledge and benefits of Vedic culture.
Stephen has written numerous books on various aspects of the spiritual tradition of India. He has put the culmination of over forty years of continuous research, sadhana practice and travel experience into his books in an effort to share it with those who are also looking for higher levels of spiritual understanding.